April 1 Deadline for Essex County Property Tax Appeal is Fast Approaching! If you’re thinking of selling in the next year and your taxes are too high, NOW is the time to act!

Its quite common to see  homeowners and especially home sellers appealing their assessments these days since prices have come down. It can really have an impact on your sale if your taxes are too high. If you’re thinking of selling your home in the next year, and your assessment is higher than you think it should be, then now is the time to apply for a tax appeal. If you miss the April 1st deadline you have to wait a whole year and that could affect your sale if your taxes are out of line.

The instructions below were just forwarded to me however, you should get advice from an attorney experienced in Essex County property tax appeals, and have him/her file the appeal for you so that its done properly. 

TAX APPEAL INSTRUCTIONS

The form (A-1Petition of Appeal) for an appeal to the County Board of Taxation may be downloaded from the NJACTB site. The link is: http://www.njactb.org/

 

At the Home/Welcome page, select “Forms” from the list near the top. At the “page not found” page that follows, type “A-1 Petition of Appeal” in the search window at the top right and click on Submit. THE FORM MUST BE PRINTED ON LEGAL SIZED PAPER.. A SAMPLE IS ATTACHED.

 

Information needed to fill out the form may be obtained by selecting “Record Search” at the NJACTB Home/Welcome page. Form may be filled out by hand.

1. Select County
2. Select Municipality
3. Type Street address in the “Location” section, i.e. 123 Chestnut

General Information:

Property Class is “2” for 1-4 family residences.

Cite your name & contact information.

Cite attorney name and contact information as “person or attorney to be notified”.

Requested Assessment can be any amount, or can be noted “appraisal to be provided”, leaving the requested assessment blank.

Reason for Appeal should be “Assessment exceeds market value”.

Note “Appraisal to be provided” in the COMPARABLE SALES section.

 

You will need 3 copies of the completed appeal form

 

Date and sign as petitioner.

Deliver a copy to the Municipal Tax Assessor office, noting date and name of town as indicated. Date and sign.

Deliver a copy to the Municipal Clerk’s office, noting date and name of town as indicated. Date and sign.

Mail (return receipt recommended) a copy with a check in the appropriate amount (see instructions on page 2 downloaded with form) to:

 

Essex County Board of Taxation

50 S. Clinton Street

East Orange, NJ 07018

 

The forms must be filed no later than April 1, 2009. After the filing deadline the County Board will establish hearing dates. Hearings will not begin until May and may continue into August, depending upon the number of appeals received. You and your lawyer will be notified of the hearing date 10-12 days in advance. Hearings are usually scheduled in order of Block #. The appraisal is filed with the town and county 7 days before the hearing.

 

 

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 6:26 pm and is filed under Selling a home in this market. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Seth Davenport said at March 15th, 2009 at 8:10 am

   I would suggest that even if you decided to sell already and have the property on the market, file an appeal so the listing can indicate, “Tax Appeal Pending”. Thus, a purchaser who is somewhat put off by the taxes currently assessed will see that something is being done about it and they may benefit from a lower assessment. Your borker should be able to provide you with the comps you need to prosecute your appeal.

2. Sue Adler said at March 15th, 2009 at 9:17 am

   Thanks Seth. I totally agree with that. In some cases, where the taxes are totally out of line and affecting the sale, I’ve even had sellers offer an escrow for the expected difference until the results of the appeal come in.

3. Jennifer said at September 28th, 2009 at 1:09 pm

   is it possible for taxes to go up after an appeal?

4. Sue Adler said at October 20th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

   Jennifer, so sorry for the late response! Your comment went into spam

   Anyway, I’ve heard of taxes going up right after town reassessments during the initial period where home owners fight their new assessments, but not after an appeal of already assessed properties. However, that’s not to say it can’t happen. I just havent seen any cases like that. What I normally hear about is just a rejection of the appeal.

   Make sure you have the proper comps with you or better yet, hire a tax appeal attorney to represent you and advise you whether the appeal is worthwhile.

   Any tax appeal attorneys want to answer Jennifer’s question?

5. Joseph Randazzo said at January 15th, 2010 at 12:25 pm

   Good afternoon,

   I hope all is well. I find your web page concerning tax appeals very well written and informative. I am a very experienced expert tax appeal appraiser specializing in tax appeals for homeowners in Livingston, Montclair, Millburn/Short Hills, South Orange and West Orange and surrounding areas. If you have any associates looking for a reliable source of very well researched and written appraisal reports by a certified real estate appraiser, I can be contacted at any time. I look forward to hearing from you and have a great day. Thank you and,

   Best regards,
   Joseph Randazzo, SCRREA
   973.715.1700 direct

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